Sometimes we become all too aware of how impossible it is to switch off technology and life can feel unbalanced. The reverse of this ‘connected’ life experience is that technology at the same time enables us to carry out our work tasks freely from any location we choose.
Whether you are a Millennial or a Boomer, you might be getting set to make big changes so that you can combine your workforce participation with a less grueling daily commute, or have decided to pack up and move to
- Enjoy life outside of a city, with trails and waterways right outside your door waiting to be explored
- Find a more affordable place to live, with housing prices within reach
- Know you and your family are safe and welcomed in their neighborhood
- Use a new time zone so you can work in Europe in the morning or the west coast in the afternoon (or vice versa)
- Delight in warm summers and mild winters.
You may even be considering a move from one province to another.
Moving provinces? Consider this
People are moving all across Canada for many reasons. Changing provinces takes a lot of planning. One of the most important parts of your plan should be your healthcare coverage.
You might think that your government health plan is the same all across Canada – but it isn’t. Healthcare is the responsibility of each province and healthcare plan across provinces are not the same. What is and is not covered, the limits of that coverage, and the type of healthcare available varies from province to province.
Before you move it is important to understand the differences so that you can sidestep unwanted out of pocket healthcare expenses. In fact, most provinces recommend that you buy private health insurance before making your move to cover any uninsured services you may need. Check out these links to provincial health plan details so you know what to expect.
Put health insurance on your checklist
If you move permanently to another province you must enroll in your new province’s healthcare plan when you get there. You will not be considered a permanent resident when you first arrive.
Changing your province of residence does not mean you will have to go months without having access to all health care. No matter what province you are in, as a Canadian you are entitled to basic services, which include:
- physician services (e.g., a visit to a walk-in clinic)
- services provided in a public hospital (e.g., emergency services, diagnostics, laboratory tests)
But, no matter what province you live in, you will still face out of pocket costs for things not covered by your government plan like
- dental treatments
- ambulance services
- prescription drugs
- home-care services
- fees charged by registered specialists and therapists
- medical items like crutches or prosthetics.
If you are concerned about how your healthcare coverage will be impacted by your move, you have options.
You can purchase health insurance to take care of the time you are transitioning from one provincial health plan to the other. For example, chiropractic care that was covered in your previous province may not be covered under your new provincial government’s healthcare plan. Or if you need an ambulance during the transition period, the ride may not be fully covered in your new province. Having health insurance in place will help cover costs you may face.
Don’t forget, an unexpected illness or accident could result in many kinds of unplanned expenses. Combined with moving expenses, those extra costs could put a strain on your financial resources.
SBIS gives you health insurance moving options
If you are ready to make the move on your health insurance options, get a quote from us. We are ready to help you with your plans.
When it comes to your health insurance needs, we can keep you connected, wherever you are.
At SBIS, we are online with you. Every year, our quote and application platform becomes smarter, easier and faster to use. We deliver tools that work smoothly from your phone, laptop or tablet from wherever you may be – whenever you want to shop for (and even compare) Manulife or Green Shield’s (GSC) or GMS health insurance products. Want to make a claim or check your claim status? There’s an app for that.
We make it easy to connect and receive personal support from insurance experts you can trust. During the workweek, you can call SBIS toll-free from anywhere in Canada and connect live to get answers within minutes. Sometimes the only time you have to deal with your health insurance choices is off-hours, so SBIS chat and online inquiry will let you ask your questions and get your answers, wherever you are, any time of day.
